POLICE in South Africa have been getting killed and in the past seven months, the SAPS has lost over 70 officers.
Their killings were due to criminal attacks and ambushes.
The latest crime statistics show that 35 officers were killed on and off duty between July and September 2023.
Since the start of the financial year in April, 78 officers were killed in South Africa.
Police Minister Bheki Cele announced this on Saturday, 26 November, as they buried an officer.
Cele, together with the SAPS management led by deputy national commissioner Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, laid to rest a young officer in his first year of service, who was shot and killed while on duty in KZN.
Constable Sphesihle Cele (26), who was a public order policing member, was shot and killed on 16 November while he and his team members responded to a complaint of a man carrying a firearm inside a tavern in Empangeni. While responding to the the scene, the young officer was shot at by the armed man and died on the scene.
The shooter was then shot and killed by the police.
Delivering the eulogy at the funeral service, Cele expressed his revulsion on the killing of officers on and off duty.
“We are appalled that about 10 police officers have been killed every single month since April; all at the hands of criminals.
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“These criminals are daring, taking on the police,” he said.
“This is why I will forever call on police to fight fire with fire, especially when their lives are threatened. No officer must ever die with a weapon in their hands.”
Deputy minister Mathale urged police officers to use force proportional to the threat when under attack.
“Don’t hesitate to use the resources we have given you to defend your communities and yourselves. Don’t hesitate to use force which is proportional to the threat. Communities are depending on you for protection.”
With the clear rise in fatalities of the country’s police, the National Commissioner of the SAPS General Fannie Masemola has assured members that they will continue to be capacitated and empowered to respond to criminals and crime.
“The killing of members will not deter us but instead, it bolsters our efforts to fight crime. As the management of the service, the capacitation and resourcing of our members, remains an apex priority for management. We will continue to ensure members are tactically trained and well resourced to defend communities” - concluded Masemola.
